Pulsed gas supplies are required for many purposes in plasma physics, laser physics, and other fields. The need for fast-acting valves that can supply large volumes of gas repetitively is increasing especially in the development of pulsed chemical and pulsed chemical transfer lasers. Also, it has recently been realized that part of the effects created when a high energy pulsed laser beam strikes a surface can be simulated if a fast-acting repetitively-pulsed gas supply is developed for this purpose. The portion of the effects that is simulated is that of the development of a low-density bubble of gas near the surface. The gas is primarily heated air but it may also contain gases from material vaporized from the surface or from paint if the surface was painted. These low density gases may expand into or be ingested by the system of which the surface was a part, possibly causing some change in the system's operating characteristics. It is desirable to simulate this effect of a laser without using a laser. The simulator makes testing possible at locations where lasers are not available, and it makes it possible to simulate the effects that would be produced by lasers with outputs larger than existing lasers can produce. The essential part of such a simulator is a fast acting valve capable of repetitively releasing pulses of low density gas. However, a check of the commercially available valves showed that none could meet the high flow rates and fast opening and closing requirements necessary to simulate the effects produced by high energy pulsed lasers such as the high pressure electric discharge CO.sub.2 lasers, the high energy pulsed chemical lasers, and the high energy pulsed Excimer lasers. To meet these requirements, a new approach to this technology is required. Therefore, a compact design that has the advantage of totally balanced forces on a single moving part has been conceived, fabricated, tested and used with success in a laser-effect simulator where the effects of low density is being simulated.
It is an objective of this disclosure to provide a fast acting valve which, along with the gas reservoir, forms an integral unit that is a pulsed gas supply. It is also an object of this disclosure to provide a pulsed gas supply that may be used to meet the gas supply requirements of pulsed chemical and pulsed chemical transfer lasers.